Lucan
Lucan is a Breton necromancer and member of the Order of the Black Worm in the third and fourth eras. Born into house Arstan of High Rock as Lucan Arstan, he was banished from his family after dabbling in necromancy. From there, he established contact with the Order of the Black Worm and became a favorite of Mannimarco, an age-old lich and leader of the infamous Worm Cult. Lucan became the Worm King's chief lieutenant and was sent to Cyrodiil in the final days of the Third Era to infiltrate the Mages Guild of Cyrodiil, the cult's biggest rival, in order to gather intel in preparation for an all out war against the guild. After earning the trust of the guild and joining their ranks, Lucan slowly worked his way to the top. In a carefully planned powerplay, Lucan managed to start the so called 'War of the Worm' prematurely and trick Mannimarco into revealing himself in physical form. From there, Lucan confronted him and killed him, taking his place and becoming Mannimarco, King of Worms himself (though only in title) while also assuming leadership of the Mages Guild. The real Mannimarco would later be resurrected by Worm Cult dissidents, leading to yet another power struggle between the two necromancers. Early Life Little is known of Lucan's life before joining the Order. He was born into a house of declining nobility as Lucan Arstan approximately twenty years prior. His mother died in childbirth, leaving him to be raised by his father: a hard and strict man by all accounts. Like many Breton, Lucan exhibited a talent for magic, though his abilities were far beyond many other children. Being the third child of his father, he was set to inherit no lands or titles upon succession and therefore Lucan was sent away to a local Mages' Academy to hone his abilities. He would spend his remaining childhood years there studying the arcane arts. His ability to get himself into trouble never ceased, however, and by his 17th year he began to dabble into the forbidden magics, namely necromancy. Though not necessarily illegal in High Rock, the black arts were heavily frowned upon. When his crimes were revealed, he was shunned by both his family and the academy. Through means currently unknown, Lucan would find his way to the enigmatic Order of the Black Worm, where he would be welcomed with open arms to practice necromancy and reach his full potential. Life in the Order Lucan greatly enjoyed his time with the Worm Cult. Unlike with the Academy, his potential was unlimited and the cult recognized this. He learned a great deal about necromancy and became very powerful very fast. His abilities were so impressive that the cult's leader, Mannimarco, took an interest in him. Mannimarco was the stuff of legend and had been around for well over an age. He was believed to have been defeated before; however, not long before Lucan joined the Order, he claimed to return in physical form as a lich. Mannimarco took Lucan under his wing so to speak and eventually made him a chief lieutenant within the cult. Seeing himself as a figure of unstoppable power, Lucan set his sights high. He began plotting to overthrow Mannimarco and win the cult's leadership for himself; from there, he could create an army of undead and storm the lands of Cyrodiil while its inhabitants cower in fear. In 3E 433, Mannimarco gave Lucan an incredibly important task. War with the Mages Guild was inevitable it seemed, but preparations must be made. Lucan was to infiltrate the Guild as a new recruit and rise through its ranks, earning their trust and learning their secrets. From there, the necromancers would attack and the Guild would be helpless. Lucan, however, had other plans. Arrival in Cyrodiil Lucan arrived in the city Anvil on the gold coast of Cyrodiil weeks after meeting with Mannimarco. From there, he quickly established contact with the Mages Guild, though his hopes of quickly gaining access to the Arcane University were quickly shot down when he was informed that Archmage Hannibal Traven had sealed off access to students without prior authorization. He would be required to seek recommendations from each of the seven guild halls and then would be considered for admittance. Lucan, seeing no other choice, went on a cross-country tour of Cyrodiil earning recommendations along the way. Upon finishing the job in Leyawiin, he made his way to the Imperial City, where Master Wizard Raminus Polus granted him entry as a full-time student. Upon retrieving his personal mages' staff, however, he saw the earliest stages of the Necromancers' onslaught. Two guild mages were murdered in Wellsping Cave, signaling the beginning of the War of the Worm. War of the Worm Meanwhile, Mannimarco sees through Lucan's plot and declares him a traitor of the Order. He ordered his Worm Cult to begin the war and Lucan is forced to remain allied with the Mages Guild until further notice. The first "battle" occurred in Bruma, though it was more of a bloodbath. Each and every guild mage was murdered by Mannimarco's skeletal assassins and the guild hall was burned to the ground. Lucan arrived too late to stop it, but knew the slaughter was Mannimarco's doing. He reported back to Hannibal Traven with word that war had begun. For the next few weeks, the Guild, with the assistance of the Imperial Battlemages, fought against the Worm Cult in open warfare. Lucan remained loyal to the Guild with nowhere else to turn to, though in reality the war was a three way competition between the Cult, the Guild and Lucan himself, who was technically working to gain control of both sides. An opportunity to end the war arose after Mannimarco's headquarters was revealed: Echo Cave, a fortress of necromancers and undead alike in the northern hills surrounding Bruma. Hannibal Traven uses a colossal black soul gem that Lucan and a pair of Battlemages gathered form a Necromancer fortress to sacrifice himself so that Lucan could not be enthralled. Seeing this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - becoming the new Archmage and getting rid of Mannimarco - Lucan gladly took it upon himself to march o Echo Cave and finish the war. A day later, Lucan arrived at the cave. After cutting his way through a horde of undead, he confronted the worm king himself. Master and Apprentice The lich and Lucan engaged one another in combat, with the former throwing everything he had at his apprentice. Lucan struggled to keep up with his master, but in the end arose victorious. Mannimarco was hardly defeated, but his physical form had been destroyed for the time being. Meanwhile, Lucan was faced with a troublesome task: he had to convince his former cult to not only allow him back into their ranks, but to accept him as their king as well. In the meantime, Lucan returned to the Arcane University, victorious. He proclaimed the death of the worm king to all who would listen, and as a reward for his efforts he was granted the title of Archmage.Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Bretons Category:Necromancers